By now you’ve probably realized that eating plant-based is not just a trend. What has caused it to become such a huge movement? And why should you be a part of it too? Find out why this year is the BEST time for you to make the most effective change YOU can make for your health and the planet, by simply trying out a plant-based diet.
The Convenience
Eating plant-based is easier than it’s ever been, its crucial to saving our planet, and it’s only getting more convenient. 2020 couldn’t be a better time to make some simple grocery switches and start your plant-based lifestyle.
If you have any source of social media, you know that the plant-based movement is on the rise. Plant-based/vegan eating is becoming more mainstream every day.
Thanks to this movement, the plant-based food options are getting better and better! The demand for these healthy alternatives is HIGH, which means the production of quality ingredients and flavor are crucial…
Restaurants are changing their menus to cater to plant-powered flexitarians, fast food chains are releasing meatless burgers, and cholesterol-free meat and cheese replacements are becoming tastier by the day. With all the people who love their juicy burgers and melty cheese, these new replacements are tasting more like the “real thing” with every new product release.
So if you are interested in eating plant-based, but are worried that the food won’t taste as good as your current go-to’s or that it will be inconvenient to grocery shop, fear no more. On your next grocery run pick out a new meatless patty in the frozen dinner section or try out a vegetable-packed recipe that requires more veggies and less animals!
As blogger Sascha Camili says, “Whether you’re in the mood for a junk-food feast or a healthy treat, you’re bound to be spoiled for choice”.
The Health Benefits
More studies have been done in the past decade in the interest of plant-based diets and the effect on our health, and the results are all astonishing. We know now, more than ever, about the good that eating a plant-dominant diet can do for us. Plants are powerful!
For example, a study conducted in 2005 tested the effect of a vegan, low-carb diet specifically in regards to cardiovascular risk factors and weight loss…
The results were a 95% difference in cholesterol levels from when the participants started this diet.
This study found that the low-carb, low-cholesterol diet with an increase in plant protein, fat and carbs from nutrient-dense foods has a “lipid-lowering advantage” and significantly improves prevention of heart disease.
When we eat animal products, we ingest cholesterol from another being. We produce enough cholesterol on our own, and everyone knows that “high cholesterol” is a bad thing, so why keep putting more in your body?
My favorite elaboration on this is the famous China Study conducted by Dr. T. Collin Campbell, from which he tested the correlation between intake of both animal and plant proteins and diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
Campbell discovered that the most consistent cancer growth was from casein protein, which is what makes up almost 90% of the protein in cow’s milk. He found that fatal diseases like cancer can not only be prevented from a plant-based diet, but potentially reversed. I highly recommend reading into his work if you are interested in nutritional science!
My point of sharing this research with you is, eating less animal foods and filling your diet with more plant foods will lower your cholesterol levels and do wonders to your overall health.
“Nutrition Represents the combined activities of countless food substances. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
– Dr. T. Collin Campbell
The Planet-It Needs OUR Help!
A HUGE reason to try out a plant-based diet this year is for the planet. Although there are many factors that contribute to global warming and endangered species, believe it or not, mass farming and fishing have some of the biggest impacts.
Did you know that around 15% of global greenhouse gas emission is cause by livestock alone (source)? Think of how much that would go down if everyone cut down just a little on the money they give to the meat industry.
Despite the obvious fact that it is inhumane to mass farm animals for food, and the way they are treated in the process is hard for most of us to face, these farms and factories that bring satisfaction to our taste buds are having to use more land and more fresh water every year. According to a study done on the environmental effects of the food industry, switching to a diet that excludes animal products has potential to reduce land use for food by 76%. Pretty simple solution for our planet, right?
When I say plant-based, I’m not telling you to go full on, cold-tofurkey plant-based lifestyle right this second. All I’m sayin’ is 2020 is the best time to START eating a plant-based diet for several very important reasons.
More food products are being made from natural ingredients, the plant-based meat and dairy replacements are tasting better and better, production of plant-based foods is easy on the planet, AND incorporating more plants in your daily food intake will have nothing but positive impacts on your health!
“I think we need to evoke the deep emotional relationship we have with food in order to influence behaviors towards what is healthy for us as human beings and also what is sustainable for our planet.”
– Brendan Montague.
If you want to learn more about going plant-based, check out the resource page on my blog for my complete guide to quick videos, research papers, books and my favorite plant-based influencers!
Siena Ulrich
Instagram: @avo.rawnutrition
Website: avo-raw.com